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"Heritage Istanbul: Restoration, Archaeology, Museology, and Library Technologies Fair and Conference" will host visitors on April 1-4, 2026, at the Eurasia Show and Art Center in Istanbul, with the event set to run for four days so participants and visitors can keep engaging for longer.
Speaking at a press meeting held at Bulgur Palas, Heritage Projects founder Osman Murat Akan said the event, which had been organized every year up to 2024, has now been turned into a biennial format, meaning it will be held once every two years.
He described Heritage Istanbul as an international organization that brings together multiple sectors under the umbrella of cultural heritage while also putting Türkiye’s intangible cultural heritage values on display.
Akan underlined that the event is built around fields that can sometimes be unfamiliar to international audiences. In this context, “museology” refers to museum work and management, including how collections are handled and presented, while “restoration” covers conservation work aimed at repairing and preserving historical objects and structures.
“Archaeology” concerns the study and recovery of material remains from the past and “library technologies” points to tools and systems used to manage, preserve, and provide access to collections and archives.
Akan said Heritage Istanbul is positioned as a meeting point rather than a mission-driven campaign, noting that it is set up to bring private companies together with public institutions, civil society organizations, and the academic community.
He said these four groups can then link up, make contact, and draw on both the commercial setting of the fair and the professional exchange around it to help the economics of their work develop while adding value at a national level.
Pointing to recent participation, Akan said the 2024 edition hosted more than 7,000 visitors, and he added that the visitor figure has been going up year by year. He also said more than 120 institutions and private-sector companies took part in 2024, and that the period from 2015 to 2025 has shown a steadily rising momentum.
For this year’s edition, Akan said they expect participation from more than 150 companies from the public and private sectors, while also noting that overseas participation adds further value to the organization.
Heritage Istanbul will be held with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s General Directorate of Museums and Cultural Assets, the Istanbul Governor’s Office, and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, with the fair, conference and side events running simultaneously.
Participants expected at the fair include the Cultural Heritage Department of the Moscow Government, the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, Albania’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage Policies, the Sharjah Heritage Institute from the United Arab Emirates, restoration companies in Türkiye, suppliers serving museology, librarianship, and archaeology, as well as Italian firms.
On the conference side, listed speakers include State Hermitage Museum General Director Prof. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Louvre Abu Dhabi Director Manuel Rabate, Blue Shield President Professor Peter Stone, Sharjah Heritage Institute President Abdulaziz AlMusallam, Colosseum Archaeological Park Director Simone Quilici, sculptor Edoardo Tresoldi and Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Secretary General Aktoty Raimkulova.
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